YKK trials CO2 dyeing

TOKYO - YKK, the world's largest zipper producer, is in the process of trialling Supercritical Fluid Dyeing (SFD) technology to zipper dyeing in a move which it claims could potentially allow it to reduce to almost zero the amount of water used in the zipper dyeing process. The Japanese company says it is currently testing and working on the further development of its 'Eco-Dye' technology for mass production, although a release date for zipper products dyed using this process has yet to be announced. YKK will at ISPO in Munich next week to discuss this and other developments at the business.

SFD is a dyeing technology that has been around for two decades but its implementation has so far proved to be commercially difficult on a mass scale. The technology uses super-critical carbon dioxide (CO2) instead of water as a dyeing medium.